he Sudanese people have once again proved that they are a great nation. Thrice they revolted against military rule, first in the 1864 revolution against the ‘Aboud junta; second in 1985 against the Numeiri junta; and now, in 2019, against the Bashir junta and his deep state. This time it is a bit different, since it is not against the military only but also against the Muslim Brotherhood, who are called ‘Kizan’ locally. The Sudanese have proven a very politically educated people – they have launched a civil resistance movement that culminated in civil disobedience today, with discipline and oneness of purpose. They want a civil, democratic system in which all are treated equal, and in which freedom and the rule of law reign. And they have done all this in a non-violent way to be admired all over the world.
The Egyptians, a lot of them despise the Sudanese unjustly, must learn from the Sudanese. We, the Coptic Nationalists, certainly raise our hats for the Sudanese. We know that there are over one million Copts in Sudan who have suffered under the Islamic military rule, and we know that they share the rest if the Sudanese people in their revolution. We must applaud them. Copts died in the 21 October 1964 Revolution (Lawrence Dimitri died alongside al-Qurashi), and in the 6 April 1985 Revolution Copts participated also. Now, in this revolution of 2019, the Copts are not absent.
May the Sudanese revolution for democracy triumph! May Sudan live in peace and justice again! May Egypt learn from Sudan! And may the Copts of Egypt learn from the Copts of Sudan that only democracy and freedom can guarantee their safety and prosperity!
Our struggle must be against both Islamists and the Junta. Both are menace to democracy, freedom and progress. We fight for a democratic Egypt that is for all its people and constituent nationalities away from Islamism.